Written answers

Friday, 21 May 2021

  • Department for Transport

    • Roads: Horse Riding

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the level of police involvement is in the event where a ridden horse is hit by a motor vehicle on a public highway and killed and the rider is...

    • Transport: Infrastructure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that transport infrastructure contracts are awarded to British companies.

  • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    • Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his Department’s long-term plan is to support jobs in the UK steel industry; and whether he has made an...

    • Parental Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, further to the Answer of 9 February 2021 to Question 146798 on Paternity Leave, how many people received statutory...

      Coronavirus: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many contractual commitments the Government has made with pharmaceutical companies involving the transfer of...

      Companies: West Midlands

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many companies are registered in (a) Sandwell and (b) the West Midlands.

      Unite: Annual Reports

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, , pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2021 to Question 180920 on Unite: Annual Reports, for what reason it was not...

      Additional Restrictions Grant

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department plans to extend the scope of Additional Restrictions Grants.

      Dismissal: Re-employment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ban fire and rehire practices.

      Companies: Directors

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to prevent directors paying themselves dividends and forcing companies into administration to...

      Post Offices: Rural Areas

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of outreach post office services as a substitute for...

      Postal Services: Homelessness

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that vulnerable people without an address can still access postal services.

      Post Offices: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish an update on the distribution plans for the £177 million investment announced in the November...

      Restart Grant Scheme: Travel Agents

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will change the classification of travel agents to strand two of the restart grant in the context of ongoing...

      Paternity Leave

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 9 February 2021 to Question 146798 on Paternity Leave, what estimate his Department has...

      Public Houses: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support wet pubs to manage (a) business loan repayments and (b) the reintroduction of...

      Public Houses: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made with the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the average increase in debt taken on by independent...

      Night-time Economy: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with representatives of the night time economy on the possible introduction of covid-19...

      Carbon Emissions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the UK's CO2 emissions were in (a) in total and (b) per capita in (i) 1990 and (ii) 2019.

      Solar Power

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of installing solar panels on (a) government, (b)...

      Solar Events

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to better understand the changing risks from the expansion of small satellite...

      Coronavirus: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of global facilitation of knowledge and technology transfers from...

      Housing: Construction

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to support building contract companies to secure sufficient building supplies in the context of the UK...

      Horizon Europe: Quantum Technology and Space Technology

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions the Government (a) has had and (b) plans to have with the European Commission on the UK’s...

      Computers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has read the research paper entitled Computers trusted and found wanting, published in Computer Law and...

      Heating: Housing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to incentivise the use of renewable liquid fuels such as hydrotreated vegetable oil in home heating.

      Coronavirus: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to support global non-exclusive licensing facilitated by the World Health Organisation's Covid-19...

      Nuclear Power: Coastal Areas

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the Government has made of the effects of the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power station on (a) coastal...

      Coronavirus: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of intellectual property rights on the ability of vaccine manufacturers...

      UK Seabed Resources: Deep Sea Mining

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on extending UK Seabed Resources’ first exploration...

      UK Seabed Resources: Deep Sea Mining

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the compatibility of his Department's sponsorship of UK Seabed Resources for deep sea...

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • Epilepsy: Cannabis

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 26 March 2021 to Question 134037, what steps his Department has taken to ensure the continued supply of...

    • Coronavirus: Disease Control

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle the surge in the Indian covid-19 variant while ensuring that social distancing restrictions can...

      Prescription Drugs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 19 April 2021 to Question 179363, what steps his Department is taking to expedite guidance on medicines...

      Shingles: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to reassess the age groups targeted in the shingles vaccination programme to include people over the age of 60.

      Health Services: Seasonal Workers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the level of healthcare that would be available for migrants who come to the UK on the...

      Asthma: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Asthma UK’s report, Asthma Care in a Crisis, Annual Asthma Survey 2020, what plans he has to improve the...

      Coronavirus: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with non-emergency patient service providers on the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on their workload.

      Travel: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will (a) publish the criteria used to determine whether to place countries on the red list of travel ban countries; and (b) provide...

      Peripheral Arterial Disease

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the Government has to help people with peripheral arterial disease and chronic limb-threatening ischaemia to gain prompt...

      Breast Cancer: Screening

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of offering mammography screening on a biennial basis instead of a three-year interval.

      Cancer: Havering

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the additional resources required to treat the backlog of cancer diagnoses and treatment in Havering.

      Gender Recognition: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding was allocated to gender dysphoria services in (a) England, (b) each NHS England area, (c) Yorkshire and (d) York in each...

      Clinical Commissioning Groups and Local Government: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential long-term economic merits of increasing core funding for (a) local...

      Coronavirus: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to (a) prepare for and (b) procure covid-19 booster vaccine doses for variants of concern.

      Coronavirus: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the level of protection given by each of the covid-19 vaccines available.

      Question

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to help ensure that people are safeguarded when accessing NHS mental health services through (a)...

      Bereavement Counselling

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to ensure that bereavement services are provided in (a) York and (b) England as covid-19 lockdown...

      Question

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of remote mental health services on patient outcomes.

      Mental Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to work with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy to improve mental health provision.

      Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Independent Review

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety (IMMDS) Review and the publication of its report in July 2020, how...

      Question

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of digital exclusion on the delivery of remote NHS mental health services.

      Coronavirus: Screening

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he make an urgent assessment of the quality of the services provided by the company, 001Doctor.uk, listed on the Government’s...

      Coronavirus: Screening

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the performance of (a) 001 Doctor and (b) other private companies included on the list of providers...

      Pre-school Education: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 22 March 2021 to Question 167938, on Coronavirus: Screening, how many covid-19 cases there have been in...

      Coronavirus: Screening

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department monitors in advance of adding or removing a company from the Government's approved list of providers for...

      Coronavirus: Screening

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the provision of a courier collection service for covid-19 testing companies is a requirement for inclusion on the Government's...

      Coronavirus: Screening

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the public health regulations on quarantining when re-entering the UK from abroad, whether it is his policy that people...

      Coronavirus: Sports

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what evidence his Department used when determining the timing for when spectators will be permitted to watch grassroots sports under Step...

      Travel: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to reduce the cost of PCR testing for people travelling for the purposes of visiting loved ones and family.

      Test and Trace Support Payment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many applications have been made to the Test and Trace Support Payment Scheme (a) in total and (b) that were successful; and what the...

      Coronavirus: Screening

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many covid-19 tests shipped in the last 12 months have produced a recorded result.

  • Department for Education

    • Apprentices: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the recent decision to replace the mandatory qualification for the laboratory technician apprenticeship with a requirement for...

    • Apprentices: Greater London

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to encourage the uptake of apprenticeships in (a) the London Borough of Bexley and (b) Greater London.

      Pupil Exclusions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress he has made in implementing the recommendations of the Timpson Review on school exclusions.

      Educational Institutions: Carbon Emissions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government plans to retrofit all education buildings to help achieve the Net Zero target by 2030.

      Adult Education: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has conducted an impact assessment of the decision to change the reconciliation threshold rate for Education and Skills Funding Agency...

      Schools: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on what date his Department plans to withdraw the requirement on schools to complete the daily Educational Settings Status Form required by covid-19...

      Primary Education: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the evidence published by More Than A Score, what plans he has to implement the recommendations of that organisation on (a)...

      Schools: Public Health

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government plans to introduce education on public health in schools as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

      National Curriculum Tests: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of postponing SATs assessments for the academic year 2021-22 in the context of the...

      Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education: Gambling

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to make teaching on the risks of gambling addiction compulsory in PSHE lessons in secondary schools.

      Primary Schools: Assessments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to reform the statutory assessment system in primary schools.

  • Ministry of Justice

    • Deed Poll: LGBT People

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to exempt non-binary and transgender people from plans to only allow enrolled deed polls to be accepted as proof of name change.

    • Employment Tribunals Service

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) single Employment Tribunal claims and (b) multiple claimant Employment Tribunal cases are outstanding; and in each case how many include a...

      Ministry of Justice: Interpreters

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, who provides the specific training course for interpreters to join his Department's register; whether that course is endorsed by a professional body;...

      Social Security Benefits: Appeals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time taken was for an appeal against a benefits decision to be heard from when the case was lodged with the Tribunal in each year since...

      High Down Prison: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Report on a scrutiny visit to HMP High Down by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (23 March and 7 – 8 April 2021), what steps he...

      Sexual Offences: Disclosure of Information

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps he has taken in response to people naming victims of sexual assault.

      Third Sector: Public Expenditure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with third sector organisations in the criminal justice sector on (a) his Department’s submissions to the...

      POA: Public Expenditure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with representatives from the Prison Officers Association on (a) his Department’s submissions to the Comprehensive...

      National Association of Probation Officers: Public Expenditure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the trade union Napo on (a) his Department’s submissions to the Comprehensive Spending Review 2021 and (b) the...

      Prison Governors Association: Public Expenditure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with representatives from the Prison Governors Association on (a) his Department’s submissions to the Comprehensive...

      Prison Officers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the average number of years of experience of serving prison officers.

      Prisons and Probation: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what additional resources he is making available to (a) prisons and (b) probation services in England and Wales to support covid-19 recovery.

      Exeter Prison: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Report on HMP Exeter by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, published in March 2021, what steps he is taking to (a) reduce staff...

      Remand in Custody

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) male and (b) female defendants were remanded in custody for their own (i) protection and (ii) welfare as an exception to bail under the...

      Bedford Prison: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Report on a scrutiny visit to HMP Bedford by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons 2 February and 16-17 March 2021, published in March...

      Prison Officers: Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to review pay rates for prison officers who joined the Prison Service (a) before and (b) after 2010.

      Prisons: Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure timely publication of data on prison education services and outcomes, including for (a) April 2018 to March 2019...

      Prisons: Recruitment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the number of new entrants to the prison service who have little or no experience of prison regimes prior...

  • Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

    • Emmerson Mnangagwa

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he last spoke to President Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe.

    • South Sudan: Peace Negotiations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to planned reductions in Official Development Assistance spending, what assessment has been made of...

      Overseas Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Written Statement of 21 April 2021, HCWS935 on FCDO update, what estimate he has made of the...

      Chad: Politics and Government

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his French counterpart on the recent events in Chad.

      Burkina Faso: Security

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in Burkina Faso; and if he will make a statement.

      Chad: Politics and Government

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the political situation in Chad.

      India: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the UK’s logistical support to India during...

      Jagtar Singh Johal

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when officials of his Department last made representations to their Indian counterparts on the case of Jagtar...

      Marine Environment: Treaties

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to secure a Global Ocean Treaty to protect the high seas in 2021.

      G7

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will reconsider inviting Narendra Modi to the G7 Summit in light of (a) the widespread reports of attacks on...

      Overseas Aid: Impact Assessments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether an impact assessment was carried out prior to the decision to reduce the Official Development Assistance...

      Overseas Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on UK aid efforts of the reduction in Official Development...

      India: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to provide (a) vaccines, (b) oxygen, (c) ventilators and (d) other covid-related support...

      Human Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has to improve support and protection for human rights defenders across the world.

      Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, on what date the Government was first informed by the US Administration that it was planning to withdraw all US...

      Afghanistan: Overseas Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support his Department is providing to Afghanistan in response to the bombing near a girls' school in Kabal...

      Israel: Palestinians

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to help de-escalate the situation in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

      Israel: Palestinians

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what counter measures his Department has considered in the event of further Israeli annexation of the Occupied...

      Israel: Violence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the causes of the intercommunal violence in the Israeli city of Lod on the 11 May...

      Meir Kahane

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the recent effect of the activities of organisations associated with the ideology...

      Overseas Aid: Research

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to reinstate research programmes which have been discontinued as a result of a reduction to...

      China: Falun Gong

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on the persecution of followers and...

      Bahrain: Political Prisoners

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 20 April 2021 to Question 178778 Bahrain: Political Prisoners, what visits have...

      Middle East: Security

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on Middle East security and stability of the (a) continued...

      Jerusalem: Religious Buildings

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on the peace process of the entry into the Al-Aqsa Mosque by armed...

      West Bank: Demolition

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2021 to Question 185340, West Bank: Demolition, whether the UK collects data on...

      Israeli Settlements

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Government's statements criticising Israel’s...

      Overseas Aid: Nutrition

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what impact assessment his Department undertook prior to the decision to reduce UK aid funding for nutrition...

      Overseas Aid: Nutrition

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, on what date his Department plans to publish a confirmed budget for future UK aid for nutrition.

      Oveseas Aid: Mortality Rates

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department made an assessment (a) before and (b) after the decision to reduce UK ODA spending from...

  • Ministry of Defence

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Local Housing Allowance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will undertake a review of how Local Housing Allowance is calculated.

    • Kickstart Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much and what proportion of the £2 billion of funding for the Kickstart scheme announced by the Government in A Plan for Jobs in July...

      Universal Credit: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make permanent the £20 uplift to universal credit uplift; and if she will extend that uplift to all legacy benefits.

      Kickstart Scheme: Employment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Kickstart scheme jobs have been (a) approved and (b) started in each region from April 8th to the most recent date for which...

      Social Security Benefits: Domestic Abuse

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the joint briefing from Shelter and Women’s Aid on the benefit cap...

      Carer's Allowance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to increase the take up of carers' allowance by eligible people.

      Personal Independence Payment: Applications

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the time limit for returning PIP2 application forms has reverted from 12 to four weeks.

      Kickstart Scheme: Bedfordshire

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Kickstart scheme placements have been (a) approved and (b) started in (i) Luton North constituency, (ii) Luton and (iii) Bedfordshire.

      Independent Case Examiner: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much funding has been allocated to the Independent Case Examiner in each year since 2010.

      Kickstart Scheme: Sole Traders

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Kickstart scheme allows applications from sole traders.

      Kickstart Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people aged (a) 16 to 18, (b) 19 to 24 and (c) over 25 started a new position under the Kickstart scheme in each month since July 2020.

      Sign Language

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the merits of introducing a British Sign Language Act that would give BSL full recognition in law.

      Children: Maintenance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions where a parent does not make payments in full and on time has the Child Maintenance Service sought to (a) make a...

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Crops and Food: Waste Disposal

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of (a) food and (b) ornamental crops that could go to waste in 2021 as a...

    • Pesticides

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the rejection in February 2021 by the Health and Safety Executive of the use of Vydate 10G on carrot,...

      Recycling

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to take steps to mitigate the environmental effect of the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme being...

      Crops and Food: Waste Disposal

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of (a) food and (b) ornamental crops that went to waste in 2020 as a...

      Roads: Litter

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle (a) plastic litter and (b) other litter on UK roads.

      Inland Waterways: Pesticides

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department or its agencies (a) are carrying out monitoring to determine whether Vydate 10G is persistent in the...

      Flood Control

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a National Flood Resilience Centre.

      International Waters: Marine Environment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to support limiting industrial activities with the greatest environmental impact taking place in...

      Marine Environment: Plastics

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of an ocean recovery strategy to tackle plastic pollution.

      Plastics: Companies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle the use of single-use plastics and (b) encourage the use of more...

      Inland Waterways: Sewage

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of raw sewage being discharged into the UK's waterways.

      Pigs: Animal Welfare

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to increase animal welfare standards for the pig farming industry.

      Tree Planting: North of England

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many trees have been planted in (a) York, (b) Yorkshire's White Rose Forest and (c) the Northern Forest in each of the...

      Tree Planting: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase funding for tree-planting and urban greening schemes in Enfield North constituency.

      Hill Farming: Subsidies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the potential number of upland farmers that will go out of business in the transition away from...

      Agriculture: Subsidies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the transition away from Basic Payments Schemes on commoners and upland...

      Agriculture and Food: Genetically Modified Organisms

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans to ease restrictions on (a) allowing the growing of genetically modified crops and (b) the use...

      Agriculture: Plums

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will provide support to farmers whose plum crops have failed as a result of experiencing frost in spring 2021.

      Organic Farming

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the proportion of UK farming that will be organic by 2030.

      Environmental Land Management Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the take-up of environmental land management schemes amongst upland agricultural businesses.

      Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Staff

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of officials employed by his Department receive remuneration as a result of working for an...

      Agriculture: Seasonal Workers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of agricultural workers for the harvesting of crops in 2021.

      Fish: Supermarkets

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of UK supermarkets on increasing their purchasing of UK-caught fish.

      Agriculture: Weed Killers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what herbicide and sprout suppressants have been approved by his Department for use in the UK following the ban on the use...

      Food: Waste Disposal

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of food that has gone to waste since 1 January 2021 as a result of...

  • Home Office

    • Forced Marriage

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the consultation on Preventing and tackling forced marriage, published 15 November 2018, what assessment she has made of...

    • Action Fraud: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of Action Fraud funding; and what plans she has to change funding provisions prior to the start...

      Lisa Smith

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will reconsider an appeal to the decision in respect of Lisa Smith who won an appeal against a ban on entering Northern Ireland.

      Visas: Turkey

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to negotiate a replacement scheme for the Turkish Businessperson Visa.

      Youth Mobility Scheme: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of covid-19 restrictions on life and work in the UK for people on a two-year Tier 5 Youth...

      Immigration: EU Nationals

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of (a) EEA Family Permit Applications and (b) EU Settlement Scheme family permits have not met her Department's service...

      Visas: Married People

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of spouse visa applications were processed within her Department's service standard of 8 weeks in Quarter 1 of 2021.

      Asylum: Housing

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whose responsibility it is to arrange and provide cleaning materials, tools and services in accommodation provided to asylum seekers.

  • Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    • Refuges

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the level of demand is for refuge spaces in England; and how many refuge spaces there are.

    • Building Safety Fund: Enfield

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what average time it has taken for his Department to complete its assessments and decision-making on Building Safety...

      Building Safety Fund

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make a further extension to the Building Safety Fund so that remediation works can follow a contract,...

      High Rise Flats: Balconies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make additional funding available to leaseholders who are being asked to pay for the costs of remediating...

      High Rise Flats: Balconies

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the projected cost of remediation works to balconies on blocks.

      Buildings: Insulation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether buildings that were not registered with the Building Safety Fund between 1 June to 31 July 2020 will be...

      Leasehold: Fire Prevention

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what meetings he has had in the last year with (a) leaseholder-run groups, (b) groups that directly represent...

      Social Rented Housing: Service Charges

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of a cap on service charge rises at the rate of CPI...

      Planning: Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the ability of the proposals in the Planning for the Future White paper to curb...

      Members: Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. member for West Lancashire of 17 March 2021 on West Lancashire...

      Clarion Housing Group

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, If he will ask the Regulator of Social Housing to provide the number of tenants or leaseholders of Clarion Housing...

      Housing Associations: Service Charges

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether it is his Department's policy that housing associations should provide full annual independent audit of...

      Private Rented Housing: Housing Benefit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to tackle discrimination against people claiming housing benefit in the private...

      Freehold: Service Charges

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to include in the legislative proposals on housing announced in the Queen’s Speech reforms to...

      Thurrock Council: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his Answer of 20 April 2021 to Question 178793 on the Prudential Framework, what assessment he has made of...

      UK Shared Prosperity Fund: Northern Ireland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that allocations of funding to Northern Ireland under the UK Shared Prosperity Fund...

      Council Tax Benefits: Private Roads

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will work with local authorities to introduce a council tax discount for residents whose properties are on...

      Hate Crime: Asians

      To ask the Secretary of State for Ministry, Housing and Local Government, what steps he is taking to tackle the level of focussed hate crime targeted at Asian people.

  • Cabinet Office

    • Census: Students

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, (a) what assessment he has made of adequacy of communication on the need for students to complete Census forms...

    • Government Departments: Correspondence

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's news story, Statement on government procurement following this week’s...

      Government Departments: Opinion Polls

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his correspondence of 7 May 2021 on Government polling, reference MC2021/08351, if he will...

      Departmental Coordination

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he has to consult Cvil Service unions on the implementation of the Shared Services Strategy for...

      11 Downing Street: Repairs and Maintenance

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish evidence to show (a) that the Prime Minister paid for the refurbishment of the apartment at...

      Census: Advisory Services

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the extent to which people seeking support to complete Census 2021 experienced...

      General Elections: Fraud

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many convictions of voter personation in general elections there have been in the 21st Century.

  • Treasury

    • Travel: Coronavirus

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support his Department is providing to businesses in the travel industry during the period of covid-19 travel restrictions.

    • Patients: Transport

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of whether the suppliers of Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services recovering VAT will potentially inflate prices to the NHS.

      Sailing Boats: VAT

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Royal Yachting Association on the VAT status of UK-owned yachts currently outside British waters.

      Wholesale Trade: Non-domestic Rates

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential economic effect on the wholesale sector of the length of time taken to start the new business...

      Wholesale Trade: Non-domestic Rates

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the economic effect on the wholesale sector of the time taken to start the new business rates relief fund.

      UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many companies have signed up to the Trader Support Service in each of the last twelve months.

      Housing: Fire Prevention

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making payments for waking watches in buildings deemed not fire safe VAT exempt in the context of...

      Hospitality Industry and Tourism: VAT

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons bowling alleys are excluded from the five per cent VAT reduction for the tourism and hospitality sector.

      VAT: Coronavirus

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 15 April 2021 to Question178712, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the grace period for...

      Pollution: Taxation

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if the Government will consider the potential merits of a tax on pollution to support environmental objectives.

      Duty Free Allowances: Airports

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential economic merits of introducing arrivals duty free shops at airports.

  • Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

    • Bowling: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with representatives of (a) the British Tenpin Bowling Association and (b) other stakeholders on...

    • Football: Clubs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make it his policy to ensure that professional football clubs have at least 51 per cent fan ownership.

      Football

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to progress the fan-led review of football; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits...

      Events Industry: Beverage Containers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when the use of reusable cups at outdoor events will be permitted as covid-19 restrictions are eased.

      Food: Advertising

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what representations he has received from businesses on the proposed online advertising ban for foods high in fat, sugar and...

      Food: Advertising

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department has had with the Department of Health and Social Care and Department for Digital, Culture,...

      5G: Expenditure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference the Written Statement of 30 November 2020, HCWS610 on Telecoms Update, how much and what proportion of the...

      Social Media: Antisemitism

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to ensure that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism is included...

      Social Media: Regulation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of requiring social media companies to report on the algorithms they use...

      Internet: Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what considerations he is planned to be required to make when defining an entity eligible to make a super complaint under...

      Internet: Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what conditions would disqualify a person's worldwide revenue from being subject to penalty under conditions outlined in...

      Journalism: Internet

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will provide a definition of journalistic content in the context of the Online Safety Bill; and what his Department's...

      Social Media: Harassment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the algorithms used by social media firms to moderate hate speech and...

      Internet: Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what level of parliamentary scrutiny is planned to apply to the modification of the codes of practice as outlined in clause 33...

      Internet: Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when his Department plans to publish the online media literacy strategy.

      Museums and Galleries: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish the (a) scientific and (b) medical evidential basis for the decisions to (i) ease and (ii) not ease...

      Newspaper Press: Social Media

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the prevalence of online harms occurring in the comments sections of recognised news publisher...

      Camelot Group: Advertising

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Answer of 29 April 2021 to Questions 188087 and 188086, how much Camelot UK Lotteries Limited has spent...

      National Lottery Distribution Fund

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Answer of 29 April 2021 to Question 188088, how much good cause income was generated through National...

      Gambling

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the responsibility for assessing gambling affordability following the recent Gambling Commission consultation has been...

      Bingo

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will allocate sector-specific funding to bingo clubs.

      Voluntary Organisations: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Prime Minister's statement that the Government will be doing much more over the winter to support the...

      Telecommunications: Infrastructure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what communication he has had with the Speed Up Britain campaign on the Electronic Communications Code.

      Telecommunications: Infrastructure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the average reduction in rental for site owners who lease their land to telecommunications companies for...

      Telecommunications: Infrastructure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support he is making available to altnets in fibreoptic broadband rollout with significant existing plans to build in...

      Telecommunications: Infrastructure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the cost to the public purse of rent reductions received by public sector bodies as a result of...

      Sportsgrounds: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of when all seated outdoor stadiums will re-open to sports fans.

      Arts Council: Music

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much the Arts Council spent on (a) opera and (b) brass bands in each of the last two financial years.

  • Cop26

  • Women and Equalities

    • LGBT People: Homelessness

      To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the 2018 LGBT+ Action Plan, whether the research carried out by her Department and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local...

    • Coronavirus: Disease Control

      To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when the Government plans to respond to the Women and Equalities Committee's Fifth Report of Session 2019-21, Unequal impact? Coronavirus and the...

      Gender Recognition

      To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) making non-binary a legally recognised gender identity and (b) including...

  • Department for Education

    • Schools: Crown Dependencies

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to give schools in the Crown Dependencies access to the Department for Education's Barred List Checking Service Sign-in portal.

    • Askham Bryan College: Closures

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of education provision in Cumbria, following the closure of Askham Bryan College’s Newton Rigg campus; whether they have made...

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • General Practitioners

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards their 2019 target to increase GP numbers by 6,000 by 2024–25; and whether they expect to meet this target.

    • Travel: Coronavirus

      To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Cayman Islands are not on the list of 'green' countries for entering England.

      Travel: Coronavirus

      To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to place (1) Mauritius, (2) Turks and Caicos Islands, and (3) Bermuda, onto the 'green list' for tourists using direct flights from the...

      Travel: Quarantine

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people (1) are currently in the COVID-19 hotel quarantine system, and (2) have been through that system since its introduction.

      Hospices

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to announce improvements in funding for hospices; and if so, when.

      Travel: Quarantine

      To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) how many applications for medical exemptions from the COVID-19 hotel quarantine system they have received for which supporting medical evidence was provided,...

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Bernard Matthews

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Pension Protection Fund’s rescue of the employee pension schemes operated by Bernard Matthews Limited has resulted in loss of any pension rights...

    • Kickstart Scheme: Job Creation

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many new jobs have been created by the Kickstart Scheme, broken down by the region of England in which the job is located.

What is this?

The parliamentary question is a great way for MPs and Peers to discover information which the government may not wish to reveal. Ministers reply via written answers, a list of which gets published daily.

We let you vote on whether or not the answer given is adequate.

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